Power operated manicuring device



May 17, 1960 E. H. CHAMBERLAIN POWER OPERATED MANICURING DEVICE Filed Jan. 2, 1958 /NVEN T01? 15; li DW/IVH CHAMBfALA/N (I I I1 A mew/5y United Stat s. Pa fi Q 2,936,768 POWER OPERATED MANICURING DEVICE Edwin H. Chamberlain, Williamsville, N.Y. Application January 2, 1958, Serial No. 706,638

2 Claims. (Cl. 132--73.6)

This invention relates to an improved electrically operated hand-held power tool or device which is especially constructed and arranged for use by a beautician or manicurist or even an individual for filing, buffing or polishing finger nails and the like or even for use as an electric shaver or hair clipper.

The improved device or tool of the present invention, in one preferred form, comprises a hand-held main body portion within which is housed a high speed rotary or vibratory electric motor and this motor is operatively connected to a work head portion of the device in such a manner that movable parts within one, two or even more adjacent work units thereof will be rapidly vibrated or oscillated back and forth while the motor is turned-on; said movable parts being oflike or different constructions depending upon the particular types of operations to be performed thereby, such as coarse filing, fine filing, polishing or bufiing of finger nails or shaving or clipping of hair from a persons face, neck, arms, legs or the like In fact, when desired, an entire work head may be readily interchanged for another of different type and thus a number of different operations may be easily performed one after another without having any appreciable delay occur.

It is accordingly, an objct of theinvention to provide an electric motor operated hand-heldtool or device provided with a work head having oneor more rapidly movingparts constructed and arranged to suitably condition a persons face, neck, arms, legs, fingers or the like when held in contact therewith Whether the conditioning being performed be shaving, hair clipping, nail filing, bufiing or polishing or the like.

'It is also an object of the present invention to provide in, an electric motor operated hand-held tool or device of the character described a work unit having a work surface of appreciable size and exposed area so that a persons nail,.for example, may be moved alongv or rolled along the work surface as the device is operating and the nail is being conditioned. V I

7 It is an additional object of the invention to provide in a tool or device of the character described a construction and arrangement of parts which allow the work head of the device to be readily. removed from themain 2,936,768 I'Patented May 17, 1960 5 showing a work head portion of the device separated from power operated hand-held tool or device embodying the present inventionand comprising a main body portion 12,

the main body portion thereof, this work head being of slightly different construction;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevational view of the work headportion of the device of Fig. 1 and showing parts of the head broken away generally along section-line 3-3 thereof,.and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is an end view of a work head of the type shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sideelevational view of the work head portion ofthe device of Fig. 2 and showing parts thereof broken away generally along section-line 5-5 thereof and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 6 is an end view ofthe work head of Fig. 5;

Fig.- 7 is a top plan view of a work head like that shown in Fig. 5 and showing two individual work units providedwith work-surfaces of different types; and

Fig. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of a part of an individual work unit of modified construction.

Referring to the drawings in detail, it will be seen that in Fig. 1 there is generally indicated at 10 a part of a and a dual work head portion 14. The main body portion 12,:in fact, is adapted to be held in a persons handwhile in use and within its outer two-part casing or houstype electric motor,- of known construction, which is adapted to be connected to a conventional source of electric power, such as a 115 volt A.C. house current, 'This motor maybestarted and stopped by suitable means such accommodate movable work assemblies of different types, v such increasing the versatility of the device as will be presently more fully described. The work unit 24,; it;

will be appreciated, is in the form of an electric shaving unit of more or less conventional design. However, the other work unit 26 is in the form of a vibratory manicuring unit.

The dual work head 14 is normally held in its operative position, as shown in Fig. 1, by a set screw 28 threaded body portion when desired and also which allows the individual movable parts' within separate work units of the head 'and'carrying work surfaces of different types to be readily removed from the units; whereby heads of difierent characteristics and work surfaces of different kinds or coarseness, for instance, may be easily and quickly interchanged one for another. I

[It is also an object of the invention to provide a hand-held device or tool of the character described which isioflight weight, easy to handle. and use and is of a sturdy, efiicient and economical construction.

Other objects and advantages'of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description which 015 lows when taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

through a part of the casing 16 and into engagement with the head 14 or into a shallow recess therein. However, when it is desired, this head portion 14 may be easily removed from the main body portion by merely loosening the setscrew and lifting the head upwardly. Such a head removed from the main body portion is shown in Fig. 2,

and, as" is clear from this figure, operative parts of the head (to be later described) will be out of driving engagement with a pair of electric motor operated vibratory drive fingers 29. The work head shown in Fig. 2, it will be noted, has slightly different types of individual workunits 30 and 31 and'the reasons for this will be pres-' ently explained.

If reference is now made to Figs. 3 and 4 wherein side work units and the spacer and into threaded openings in the other of said units.

These work units are each formed by an elongated rectangular stationary supporting block, such as indicated at 34 in Fig. 4 and to the opposite sides of this block are spot welded or otherwise secured spaced leg portions 35a and 35b of a U-shaped shield or guard 35.

As clearly shown, this guard 35 is shaped so that intermediate inwardly bent side portions 35c and 35d thereof will function'as elongated parallel guiding walls for an individual power driven work assembly 36. A curved bight portion 352 of this shield 35 interconnecting the side portions 350 and 35d is arched or curved outwardly so as to form an inner curved surface which. also functions as guide means for the upper 'part of the power driven assembly 36, V

In order to insure smooth sliding contact between parts of the bight portion 356 and the individual movable assembly 36, a pair of spring pressed balls 38' are provided in bores in the stationary block34 'near opposite ends thereof, and these balls are arranged to press upwardly upon the bottom surface of the movable Work assembly 36. As clearly shown in Fig. 3, the work assembly in Work unit 24 comprises an elongated rigid bar-like member 40, against which the balls 38 press. A central recess 42 is formed in this bar into which fits the upper end of one of the driving fingers 29. Thus,

during normal operation of the device, the bar 40 will be vibrated rapidly back and forth in opposite directions, as indicated by arrow 43, by the electric motor mentioned previously.

sand paper or emery cloth of the like since only one unit of the work head 14 is being used for manicuring purposes. On the other hand, when two different work surfaces are employed in a single work head, as in Fig. 2, it may be preferable to have one work surface formed so as to provide a coarse abrasive action when used and the other arranged to provide a fine abrasive action. Or a different arrangement; as shown in Fig. 7, might be employed wherein a coarse abrasive action will be obtained by a steel file section 66 cemented on filler strip 62'and a medium or fine sand paper or emery cloth or the like 68 secured to the other filler strip.

In Fig. 8, a slightly difierent work unit construction is disclosed. While it is important to have in the units shown at 26, 39 and 31, as well as in the units of Fig. 7, the shield or guide 35, or 50, covering a goodly portion of the work surface so that only a long narrow abrasive area is exposed through slot 52 and thus the chances of any injury to the user of the device areeliminated, in Fig. 8 the shield 69 is purposely provided with a very wide slot 7t), said slot being in length much the same as slot 52. The reasons for a wider slot at 70 is that instead To opposite sides of the bar 40 are secured leg portions of a very thin U-shaped plate 44 which is transversely perforated along its upper bight portion by a series of rectangularly shaped openings so that a series of upstanding teeth 46. (see Fig. 3) will be formed. In the bight portion a of the shield are also formed one, or preferably several, series of closely spaced transverse openings, as indicatedat 48. Together, these openings 48 and teeth 46 cooperate in forming an electric shaver or hair clipping unit for the device, depending mainly upon how coarse or fine the cooperating seriesare.

The work unit 26 in Fig. 4, however, as well as work units 30 and 31 in Figs. 5 and 6 have different constructions. The bight portion of the U-shaped shield or guard 50 is provided with a single elongated work opening or slot 52 centrally located therein and extending for an appreciable distance along the length of the work unit. In fact, it has been found convenient to make such a work opening as 52 in the neighborhood of A5 of an inch wide and approximately of an inch in length. The individual movable work assembly 54 positioned within the guard 50 of work unit 26 is also of a modified construction when compared with the assembly in work unit 24-. Whilemovable assembly 54 employs an elongated V rigid bar-like member 56, like bar 40, it has secured thereto a thin U-shaped guide member 58 which is cut away along its bight portion for an appreciable distance intermediate its opposite ends so that only the opposite ends of the bight portion remain, as indicated at 59 and 60, to serve as slidable guide means engaging the inner side of shield 50 when pressed upwardly by the spring pressed balls 38.

Each work unit 26, 3t) and 31 has mounted on its rigid 1 bar-like member 56 a filler strip 62 which may be 'of wood or plastic, to be of light weight, and to the top side of this strip is cemented or otherwise secured means 64' providing a suitable work surface dependent upon the kind of beautician work to be done thereby. The means 64 providing the'work surface is positioned below the end portions 59 and 60 of the guide member 58 so that thiswork surface will be out of contact with the shield 50fduring operation of the device. The means forming the work surface of. the movable assembly in unit 26 would probably be formed of a medium coarseness of of an abrasive work surface being provided upon the therewith. To give a rounding contour to the other edges of the polishing means 72, its side edges are inten tionally extended down the sides of the filler strip 74, as shown, and even embedded slightly therein.

In Fig. l, a set screw 28 has been described for retain ing the work head 14 in operative position. It will be readily appreciated that other means which are easier to manipulate by the fingers of the user of the device could be used in place of screw' 28, if desired, particularly when it is desired to interchange work heads of different types or coarsenesses. One such. means which could be used would be a set screw having a much larger head portion which is also exposed so as to be easily gripped by the users fingers when desired. Other equivalent means could be provided.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A hand-held power tool comprising a. casing en shaped shield-like member positioned infixed relation upon said base, an elongated work assembly disposed within said shield-like member and'having abutment means thereon in operative engagement with said driving means so as to be actuated back and forth within said shield-like member during operation ofsaidmotor, said work assembly comprising an elongated bar-like part and an inverted U-shaped element secured together so as to provide an elongated hollow interior, the bight portion of said ,U-shaped shield-like member and thebight portion of the U-shaped element positioned therein being in engagement and arranged for limited lateral sliding move ment therebetween, and being provided with a pair of elongated aligned openings, said elongated aligned open ings being of such size as toconveniently accommodate a portion of a finger nail or the like'for manicuring pinposes, and a filler strip'po'sitioned within the interior of said U-shaped element and having a work surface there'- on disposed closely adjacentthe opening in said U-shaped element, said work surface beingformed of a suitable material for manicuring a portion of a finger nail or'the like and being of such size as to substantially fill said opening, said work head being readily removable from said casing and said abutment means being readily disengageable from said driving means by vertical movement of said head, and said work assembly and filler strip be-- ing readily laterally removable. from said shield-like member while saidhead is dis-engaged from said casing to allow cleaning and replacement of said filler strip and said assembly when desired. 7

2. A hand-held power tool comprising a casing enclosing an electric motor, and having driving means extending upwardly therefrom and arranged to vibrate in a predetermined lateral direction, a work'head positioned on said casing, said work head comprisinga supporting base and a pair of elongated hollow inverted U-shaped shield-like members positioned in fixed parallel relation upon said base, a pair of elongated work assemblies disposed within said shield-like members and each having abutment means thereon in operative engagement with said driving means so as to be actuated back and forth within said shield-like members during operation of said motor, each work assembly comprising an elongated barlike part and an inverted U-shaped element secured together soas to provide an elongated hollow interior, the bight portion of each U-shaped shield-like member and the bight portion of the U-shaped element positioned therein being in engagement and arranged for limited lateral sliding movement therebetween, and each being provided with a pair of elongated aligned openings, one pair of aligned openings being relatively narrow and of 16. such size as to conveniently accommodate'an edge portion of a finger nail or the like, and the other pair of elongated aligned openings being relatively wide and of such size as to conveniently accommodate a flat surface portion of a finger nail or the like, and a filler strip positioned within the interior of each U-shaped element and having a work surface thereon disposed closely adjacent the opening in the element, the work surface on the filler strip adjacent the narrower opening having abrasive characteristics and being of such size as to substantially close said opening, and the work surface on the filler strip adjacent said wide opening being formed of a bufling material and so positioned relative thereto as to be readily engaged by a flat surface portion of a finger nail or the like-to be buffed, said work head being readily removable from said casing and said abutment means being readily dis-engageable from said driving means by vertical movement of said head, and said work assemblies and filler strips being readily laterally removable from said shield-like members while said head is dis-engaged to allow cleaning and replacement thereof when desired.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

